Double-junction amorphous silicon-based solar cells with 11% stable efficiency

Yang, Jeffrey; Guha, S.

doi:10.1063/1.108021

Cited by 60 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…It is likely that improvements in stabilized efficiency will result from more optimized device designs and improved materials deposited by new techniques ͑e.g., hydrogen dilution 7 ͒, however, further material improvements are necessary in order for the amorphous silicon based solar cell to fully realize its potential. 8 Das et al reported 9 that relatively stable narrow gap (E g , Tauc Ͻ1.7 eV) hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) could be prepared by the chemical annealing ͑CA͒ technique. This CA technique consisted of the sequential deposition of thin ͑Ͻ3 nm͒ a-Si:H layers followed by an atomic hydrogen treatment ͑atomic hydrogen was generated by a remote microwave plasma͒.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wide band gap amorphous silicon thin films prepared by chemical annealing

Futako

Yoshino

Fortmann

et al. 1999

Journal of Applied Physics

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High quality wide gap hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were prepared using a hydrogen chemical annealing technique involving the deposition of thin amorphous silicon films followed by a hydrogen radical (and/or ion) treatment. Thick films were prepared by repeating this process many times. The substrate temperature and the hydrogen treatment time can be used to select optical band gaps ranging from 1.8 to 2.1 eV. Low dangling bond defect densities in the as-deposited films ranging from 3 to 8×1015 cm−3 were measured over the entire optical band gap range. The light induced dangling bond densities were less than those found in standard high quality amorphous silicon. The optical band gap is strongly correlated to the medium range structure characterized by the dihydride density. The electronic transport and stability are correlated with the Si–Si bonding environments and the associated short range order including bond angle and bond length distributions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wide band gap amorphous silicon thin films prepared by chemical annealing

Futako

Yoshino

Fortmann

et al. 1999

Journal of Applied Physics

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“…2 The micromorph cell does not incorporate any silicon alloys in the absorber layers; it has the optimal bandgap combination for terrestrial applications, and it is quite stable to light induced degradation. 3,4 Tandem solar cells are regularly characterized by their light current-voltage ͑J-V͒ characteristics under AM1.5 illumination and by the spectral responses ͑SRs͒ under blue bias light and under red bias light. [2][3][4] To our knowledge the dark J-V curves that have been widely used and studied in single solar cells have not been yet systematically explored in tandem solar cell structures to see if they can provide some useful information about the electrical quality of the device constituents.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring dark current voltage characteristics of micromorph silicon tandem cells with computer simulations

Sturiale

Li²,

Rath³

et al. 2009

Journal of Applied Physics

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The transport mechanisms controlling the forward dark current-voltage characteristic of the silicon micromorph tandem solar cell were investigated with numerical modeling techniques. The dark current-voltage characteristics of the micromorph tandem structure at forward voltages show three regions: two with an exponential dependence and a third where the current grows more slowly with the applied voltage. In the first exponential region the current is entirely controlled by recombination through gap states of the top cell. In the second exponential region the current is controlled by the mixture of recombination through gap states of both the top and bottom cells and by free carrier diffusion along the a-Si: H intrinsic layer. In the third region the onset of the electron space charge limited current on the a-Si: H top cell can be observed along with some other mechanisms that are discussed in the paper. The high forward dark J-V curve of the tandem cell can be used as diagnosis tool to quickly inspect the efficiency of the recombination junction in recombining the electron-hole pairs generated under illumination in the top and bottom cells. The dark current at high forward voltages is highly influenced by the amount of electron-hole pairs thermally generated inside the recombination junction.

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“…Previously, we have studied the effect of current mismatch between the top and the bottom cells in a doublejunction structure [3]. In this study, we focus on the current-matching design of the three component cells in a triple structure and report on our findings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Progress in triple-junction amorphous silicon alloy solar cells with improved current mismatch in component cells

Yang¹,

Xu²,

Banerjee³

et al. 1996

Conference Record of the Twenty Fifth IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference - 1996

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We have achieved a new world record stable efficiency of 11.8% for amorphous silicon alloy solar cells using a spectrum-splitting, triple-junction structure. In addition to our previously reported key factors leading to high performance multijunction solar cells, we have improved the current matching among the component cells. We have designed the triple structure such that the top cell, which usually exhibits the highest fill factor, remains to be the current-limiting cell in the degraded state. One critical requirement for achieving the desired current matching without sacrificing the triple cell current is to obtain a high quality narrow bandgap bottom cell capable of producing sufficient red current. Details on this narrow bandgap amorphous silicon germanium alloy cell as well as stability data on the triple-junction cell are presented.

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Double-junction amorphous silicon-based solar cells with 11% stable efficiency

Cited by 60 publications

References 2 publications

Wide band gap amorphous silicon thin films prepared by chemical annealing

Wide band gap amorphous silicon thin films prepared by chemical annealing

Exploring dark current voltage characteristics of micromorph silicon tandem cells with computer simulations

Progress in triple-junction amorphous silicon alloy solar cells with improved current mismatch in component cells

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